Achieving more depth in your mixes.

[RawDepth]

You should approach your mix with attention to the three main dimensions in the sound field. They are height, width, and depth. Work on them each one at a time. Here's how...

Dimension 1:
Before starting the initial mixdown of all recorded tracks, set your mixer to MONO at first. (Don't worry, it's only temporary.) Don't bother with effects yet either, it's all about volume levels (height) at this point.

Now start a basic mix with everything in mono. You will notice it is far easier to determine proper levels for each track. Because everything will appear dead center, you can focus on its vertical size with no other dimensions to distract you. Pay close attention to anything that stands out too loud (too tall) or too quiet (too short.) Don't make everything the same level either. It all has its proper place in the mix as far as vertical size. The taller you make a certain instrument, the more the listeners will focus on it.

Dimension 2:
Listen to it several times that way until you feel that it has a good overall balanced sound. After you are happy with the volume levels in general, you can start adding effects to give depth to a few things, (your second dimension.) Reverb is effective at making things seem far away or smaller. This is done by changing the wet to dry ratio. The wetter the blend, the farther away a track may appear.

Dimension 3:
The third and last dimension should be Panning. With your mixer set back to stereo mode, you can now move instruments left or right. You should find that even after everything is panned out to its own private spot, (left or right in the sound field,) it all still mostly maintains that original blended volume.

[thebigcheese]

A good book on this subject is ReaMix, available here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/2539885

It's oriented towards people using Reaper, obviously, but it's still got a lot of good information, IMO. Especially for people just getting started, such as myself.

[kip4]

initially i thought great way to mix everything in mono but after reading the rest of this article im not sure it'd work for me because and don't get me wrong i'm not saying the technique is totally wrong but
when things ar panned they lose some volume so i'd prefer to set the volume (or reset ) after panning
also reverb can mean readjusting too so i've always done it in that general order but kept it stereo
good topic though

[stainless]

klp4-  welcome to the board.

I'g give mono a try, at least as a mix (I will routinely toggle back and forth)- tracks that are too loud or too low will be immediately obvious-  this technique also helps minimize the slight differences (electrical components all have manufacturing tolerances, so it's not uncommon for 2 "identical" components to have slightly different values... magnify this with an entire circuit and  one channel can have enough of a tolerance difference that we unconsciously make the adjustment- like wise with speakers

and then , oh yes, there's our own ears... seldom does each ear hear have the same threshold for all frequencies

[kip4]

thanks for that i promise i'll give it a go
cheers good poits well made.

[RawDepth]

initially i thought great way to mix everything in mono but after reading the rest of this article im not sure it'd work for me because and don't get me wrong i'm not saying the technique is totally wrong but
when things ar panned they lose some volume so i'd prefer to set the volume (or reset ) after panning
also reverb can mean readjusting too so i've always done it in that general order but kept it stereo
good topic though

Oh but of course, you are free to further tweak the volume of any tracks you need to. This method is just a way to make it easier to get your volume levels in the ballpark. The way the final mix sounds in the end is still the result of careful decision making on your part.

Another thing I like to do while mixing is to stick my head in between the speakers and close my eyes. (With mixer back in stereo mode.) I imagine that I am floating just above the stage as the band plays, perhaps just above the lead singer somewhere. (With eyes closed we can better detect direction and pin-point the source of each sound.) I want the music to create a three dimensional sound stage right there beneath me. I expect the music to make it easy for me to imagine the players actually standing somewhere near me. I mix so that I can easily judge exactly where each musician is standing in relation to me. Using panning, I try to move each man into his own spot on the stage. I move them closer or farther away by adjusting volume levels and amount of reverb. When the overall image in my mind's eye seems vivid and correct, I believe I have a better balanced mix.

If one instrument sounds too low or too "reverbie," it may seem that he is too far away from the rest of the band or even in a different kind of room. If any effect smears an instrument too much to determine exactly where it is then this can ruin the overall stage image.

[T .O.Stephen]

Thanks for this topic. It is very usefull. I already tryed the way of mixing you wrote, before. I mean the stage-image. I had problems with effects and reverb. But now, I see more clearly the way of it.
About the first dimension:
I haven't try it yet ( the stereo to mono and mono to stereo thing )  but it sounds helpful and turn on. I'll try it.